The rest of the government has traditionally used Blackberries up to now. Hell, they even get PlayBooks now. Why should the NSA be relegated to ancient secure-phones? Troy Lange, the NSA's mobility mission manager thinks that sucks. It's time the NSA got their own smartphone.

While Obama and colleagues have admitted to owning iPads, it's the BlackBerry PlayBook which…
Read more Read more

Lange's idea essentially takes the utility of those old General Dynamics Sectera Edge phones and makes them smarter. Right now, NSA mobiles are locked down pretty tight; if an operative wants to check their email, he or she would have to log in at their desk. Even if their phone or laptop registered wit the Secret Internet Protocol Router Network.

Because BlackBerries and Sidekicks aren't quite secure enough for the NSA—the government…
Read more Read more

That's woefully inefficient. Even SIPRNET-friendly government phones can only talk to one another. Lange contends that its the information that's classified, and not the devices themselves. So he wants there to be a way to seamlessly access and transmit data across these secure devices in real-time. Presumably modified Blackberries with a suite of apps that can maintain the security incumbent on keeping all this classified data safe.

Lange wants these new phones to eventually reach the pockets of all government officials. While I'm not sure the idea will be met with glee, it's a reasonable one that deserves consideration. [UberReview]